A company associated with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has increased its offer to acquire the Infowars platforms to over $7 million. This new bid is more than double what they had initially proposed during an auction that was later canceled by a judge, as noted by a lawyer involved in the case.
First United American Companies, which operates a website under Jones’ name selling nutritional products, made the revised offer without any formal request to do so. Joshua Wolfshohl, the attorney representing the trustee handling Jones’ bankruptcy, informed a bankruptcy court judge during a brief session in Houston.
Wolfshohl also mentioned that a new proposal is expected soon from Global Tetrahedron, the parent company of The Onion, a satirical news organization.
The sale of Infowars is a critical aspect of Jones’ personal bankruptcy proceedings, which he initiated in late 2022 following a court ruling that required him to pay nearly $1.5 billion in defamation cases filed by families of the victims from the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Jones has maintained that the 2012 massacre, which resulted in the deaths of 20 children and six educators, was a staged event aimed at promoting gun control.
Most of the funds generated from the sale of Infowars, along with numerous personal assets belonging to Jones, will be directed towards settling the defamation rulings in favor of the Sandy Hook families. Remaining proceeds will be allocated to Jones’ other creditors.
The fate of Infowars, headquartered in Austin, Texas, is uncertain following the failed auction, and the process for selling its assets is still undetermined. Wolfshohl stated that the trustee, Christopher Murray, will assess the new offers and formulate a plan moving forward.
“I can’t predict exactly how this will unfold,” Wolfshohl commented. “But I anticipate we will return to the court and propose, ‘Judge, here’s the situation. Let’s discuss a sale process that you would find acceptable, potentially involving an auction.’”
Representatives for both The Onion and First United American have not yet responded to requests for comments regarding the situation.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez had previously canceled the auction and turned down The Onion’s bid for Infowars in December, indicating that the bidding procedure was flawed, lacked transparency, and did not offer a sufficient return for creditors. He noted that there were significant issues concerning the actual bid value from The Onion.
Global Tetrahedron had submitted a $1.75 million cash offer, which included plans to remove Jones from the company and relaunch Infowars as a parody. Their proposal also contained an agreement with several Sandy Hook families to forfeit $750,000 of their auction earnings for other creditors.
In contrast, First United American had made a cash bid of $3.5 million and intended to allow Jones to remain involved with Infowars. Ultimately, despite The Onion’s lower bid, the trustee selected it as the winning offer, citing a greater potential return for creditors.
Following the auction, Jones and First United American alleged fraud and collusion throughout the bidding process, but Judge Lopez ruled that no misconduct had occurred.
Moreover, the Sandy Hook families who had secured over $1.4 billion from the Connecticut lawsuit, along with those awarded approximately $50 million in Texas, have come to an agreement on how to distribute the funds from the sales of Jones’ and Infowars’ assets. The two groups had been in disagreement over this matter for several months.
According to the arrangement, families involved in the Texas lawsuit will receive at least $4 million, while those in the Connecticut case will get a minimum of $12 million. Should the Connecticut families secure more than $12 million, the Texas families will receive 25% of any amount exceeding that threshold. This agreement is pending approval from Judge Lopez.
